Abstract: Bioengineered materials are used as a substitute in many fields of medicine, especially in plastic surgery and in burns. In ophthalmic plastic surgery they can be used for covering large tissue defects or as a tarsal plate substitute, in cases when it is not possible to use conventional surgical techniques. We have searched PubMed and Web of Science scientific databases. We can generally categorize skin substitutes by the type of tissue used—we distinguish autografts, allografts, and xenografts. There are also completely synthetic substitutes. The aim of our article was to summarize the current state of knowledge and to sum up all the clinical applications of bioengineered materials in the periocular region. There are only a few scientific articles about this topic and lack of prospective randomized studies aimed on use of bioengineered materials in periocular region. Nevertheless, there are many articles describing successful case reports or case reports series. According to literature, bioengineered materials are the most commonly used in big traumas or large surgical defects, especially in oculoplastic tumour surgery. Bioengineered dermal substitutes are not frequently used in the periocular region. Dermal substitutes are useful, when it is not possible to close the defect with any other conventional surgical technique.

Abstract: Animal models are crucial for the study of tumorigenesis and therapies in oncology research. Though rare, uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common intraocular tumor and remains one of the most lethal cancers. Given the limitations of studying human UM cells in vitro, animal models have emerged as excellent platforms to investigate disease onset, progression, and metastasis. Since Greene’s initial studies on hamster UM, researchers have dramatically improved the array of animal models. Animals with spontaneous tumors have largely been replaced by engrafted and genetically engineered models. Inoculation techniques continue to be refined and expanded. Newer methods for directed mutagenesis have formed transgenic models to reliably study primary tumorigenesis. Human UM cell lines have been used to generate rapidly growing xenografts. Most recently, patient-derived xenografts have emerged as models that closely mimic the behavior of human UM. Separate animal models to study metastatic UM have also been established. Despite the advancements, the prognosis has only recently improved for UM patients, especially in patients with metastases. There is a need to identify and evaluate new preclinical models. To accomplish this goal, it is important to understand the origin, methods, advantages, and disadvantages of current animal models. In this review, the authors present current and historic animal models for the experimental study of UM. The strengths and shortcomings of each model are discussed and potential future directions are explored.